


A man among beasts Book 1-A life lost is a life gained

by Husky_Boi



Series: A man among beasts [1]
Category: A man among beasts, Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:29:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29675646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Husky_Boi/pseuds/Husky_Boi
Summary: I am writing a book series for fun, its terrible but I enjoy writing and I hope you get at least the tinniest bit of enjoyment from it
Series: A man among beasts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180673





	1. Prologue

It was a brisk day with the cold weather stinging the skin of all who lingered in it to long  
A man walks into an old, musty and half collapsed house, he walks through a hallway decorated with relatively new looking decorations. He walks into the old dusty living room and sits on a beautifully carved wooden chair.

The man was wearing a long black hunting coat. He looked to be in his late seventies at least, he had snow white hair and then there were his eyes, his eyes were a cool almost ethereal blue. He looked like he had witnessed creation itself. On his neck was a faded deep scar that matched one on his right eye. On his sides were two weapons, on his left was a hunting knife made from an indiscernible materiel, the blade had a carving in it that read ‘Liberation’. To his right was what looked to be some sort of old, western looking revolver with an ivory grip. The ivory was covered completely with etchings of all sorts. Grasped in his hands was a wooden mug filled with a black, viscous substance. He then turns his head to look to someone in the room who cannot be seen.

He speaks in a gruff, gravely voice “Well you're here early, hope i didn't make you wait. Here have this” he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tin of fruity smelling hard candies “You can have one I've already had two pots worth” he chuckles at that part, when he laughs he began to sputter and cough

He pulls out a purple handkerchief and coughs into it, when he pulls it away there are bloodstains on it. “Don't go worry about that, I'm not exactly at the pinnacle of youth and health” he chuckles meekly to himself “but you aren't here to hear about an old mans health”

He sits on the chair behind him and begins to fiddle with something on his leg, with a pop he pulls off a wooden prosthesis and places it next to him “You should see your face” He half yells, letting out some loud guffaws “bet you're wondering how this happened, huh and also why i am here, you don’t exactly see many like me, do you?”

“Well it is kind of a long story, so to start I'm gonna have to explain… well explain that'' he points out the window as if referring to the world itself, as if on cue when he points a loud mighty roar echoing from the distance. The land out the window was scorched and bleak, the dirt was more resembling a dark grey powder with no plant life for miles, all the surrounding buildings collapsed and ran down.

“It all started when I was sixteen, but we're gonna start when I was fifteen to give context, oh and by the way my memory is not what it is used to so forgive me if I miss out any details. Now, i don’t remember my old name so I'm just gonna skip details involving my old name”


	2. Chapter 1- A child lost through death

A lanky teenager is walking alongside his mum and dad, the boy had his phone in his hand and he was playing a game on it.

The mum was in her late thirties but looks younger, she had hazel green eyes, tanned skin and black hair, she was nowhere near as tall as her son.

The dad was only slightly taller, with short curly hair and brown eyes, he was walking a bit behind his wife and son making terrible jokes any opportunity he had.

The boy had Dirty blond hair with teal eyes and pale skiing in contrast to his parents appearance. The mum speaks up in a feigned annoyance “Is that phone more interesting than your loving parents taking you to see your favourite granddad” she says in a joking tone

“Only granddad you mean. And it is” the son responds cheekily

“Preston, talk to your son” she looks to her husband with more feigned annoyance

“Sadie, let the boy be, not his fault he is antisocial” he says in a joking tone and claps a hand to his sons back

Preston then takes of running and yells, “I'll see you slow coaches at my dads lab”

“Preston not everything's a competition” Sadie says before turning to her son “we can beat him if we run, he's not that fast. Come on”

Elated at the idea of beating his dad there, the boy pockets his phone and runs to the lab. While running he passes a radio that was spouting a loud broadcast, which he only heard half of “-viets issued a threat that if there is no surrender they will bo-” he ran past it ignoring the broadcast, he was not one for politics

When he runs over the hill he sees his granddads lab, just in front of the front door was Sadie doing a little victory dance while Preston was standing next to her panting from exhaustion.

When Alan walks to the lab door he knocks loudly. An old man answers, “Eh, who are you” he says looking right at his grandson "I don't want any girl scout cookies” he says grinning, trying to suppress a chuckle

“No, no, no I'm the grim reaper, I'm a few decades late though. I’m looking for a bald man named Walter.” The boy replied smirking

“Cheeky bugger, I'm not that old. Now come in, let me show you what i am working on” Walter beckons the three to come in

“So, Dad how have you been doing?” Preston asks

“Good as I’ll ever be” Walter then turns his head and yells out “HEY SPENCER!” when he yells this a man is heard cursing in surprise followed by the sound of glass shattering

A young man walks out a room now filled with smoke and yells back “WHAT NOW! I swear old man if you just wanted me to drop something” he promptly stops yelling when he sees the three.

“Could you please grab the latest sample please?” Walter asks, staring at his assistance.

Walter is a scientist working on various things to help with the war effort. The war has been going on for a decade today. It started in 2047. The war has been really awful. 

Walter’s assistant hands him a small beige pill

“Over the past couple of years one of our experiments is a hunger and thirst suppressant. To put it simply, take this pill and you will be supplied with nutrients and hydration for 4-5 years.”

The assistant speaks up “So far we have made big leaps and bounds, our tests have concluded success on small rodents and even some large carnivores. So we know it works on rats, mice, wild dogs and so on.”

“We have some volunteers coming in of varying ages, weights and other variables.” Walter speaks up “Including me”

“And me granddad” the boy speaks up “i volunteered as well” he reminds his granddad.

“Well I have two pills here, so down the hatch” he pops one in his mouth and hands the other to his grandson

“Hope this works” the boy says as he puts the pill on his tongue and swallows it, both pulling a face of disgust.

Walter immediately begins to walk away “I still have work to do we’ll do more of this later”

A clock behind the boy begins to tick faster and faster, moving time along a bit showing the boy and his family getting older and visiting Walter more, then the clock stops and resumes going at a normal pace.

Walter looking only a bit older walks to the boy “Happy sixteenth, you only turn it once” he says

“You only turn every age once granddad” the boy says

“Exactly” Walter says putting up finger guns “I have something special i want to show you”

The boy follows his Grandad to a back room “as you know the war is still raging on and England isn't the only one developing weapons”

“I know, i watch the news, I've seen the reports” the boy responds

“The prime minister gave me an order for a last resort as well as a way to survive the last resort, cryogenic freezing pod” Walter pulls off a sheet revealing a large clunky machine.

“What is the last resort?” He asks concerned

“Something I hope to never use” Walter replies solemnly 

“Why are you telling me this?” The boy says, a little frightened by the tone of his granddad's voice.

Sirens begin to ring and a putrid smell fills the air. Walter turns to his grandson with a look of pain, “Because of that, I’m sorry” he pushes the boy into the pod and pulls a lever next to it.

The last thing the boy sees is Sadie and Preston running in the room as the ground begins to shake violently and a sickly green gas fills the room enshrouding everything. Then his vision goes completely black.

...

The boy is not unconscious, he is awake and aware. But he cannot see, he cannot move, he cannot feel or think. He just sits in the state for who knows how long, but after what feels like forever, thoughts begin to fill his head. Thoughts that don’t all seem like his own.

Where am I?  
Am I dead?  
Is this death?  
Is this Purgatory?  
Am I in Hell?  
What is Hell?  
Where is my family?

Suddenly the boy's eyes snap open and all he sees is darkness, a void stretching on for eternity. In the distance of this void is footsteps. Getting closer and closer, filling the boy with a primal sense of dread. He takes off in the opposite direction of the footsteps, at least he thinks he does, the more he runs the more he comes to realise the darkness is the only thing he sees.

The footsteps keep coming though, so he just keeps running. The voices that once filled his head with questions now just mutter and scream a single word over and over again. ‘Run’.

The sound of feet keeps getting louder and closer though, despite the boy's futile effort to run away. But a glimmer of hope shows itself when he hears a voice. The voice yells out “Over hear!”. When the boy looks to see the source of the voice he sees a woman standing in a gate made from logs. “Hurry up, it’s right behind you”

The boy runs into this woman's arms as the gate slams shut behind him followed by the footsteps retreating. The woman hugs the boy and speaks in a calming tone “hey, its ok, its ok.” She looked a bit disturbed when seeing the boy “I couldn't see you in the shroud, by the Gods you're just a child, how did you end up in this awful place.”

The boy looks to his surroundings and sees he is in a village of people with the house and fencing surrounding the village was made of burnt logs. But the thing that shocks him more is the fact that the person hugging him is in fact making contact, but he cannot feel anything.

“Alright let me start with the basics, considering your young age i would guess you were pushed or fell into the pit and ended up in the vale, you can call me Ava. and who are you?”

The boy goes to speak, a tirade of questions ready to pour from his mouth but not a sound leaves his throat, he can not talk. This revelation caused him to panic a bit.

“Can’t speak huh, not the only one. Stay in the vale long enough and your future begins to show. Hold on, let me get you some paper and some ink” 

Ava quickly runs into one of the houses and comes back out with some paper and what looks to be a quill. “Use this to answer my questions and write down questions of your own, I'll start. What is your name? Why are you in the Vale? How old even are you? And finally do you feel any other discomforts other than your voice?” She asks as the boy scribbles furiously.

He writes ‘ I do not remember who I am. I am sixteen. What is the Vale? When it comes to discomfort my right eye has gone blurry, my left leg just feels numb along with a bunch of random itches across my chest. And what was that thing following me”

Ava reads the note “You must go through a lot, to put it simply the Vale is the blackness out there, it is a strange place where time itself makes no sense. An example is the injuries, all injuries you will suffer manifest but don't show. And that thing following you, we are not quite sure. It just chases any who stray to far from light so all newcomers are at risk”

A sudden pain jolts into the back of the boy's skull causing him to double over in pain. And hot tears stream down his cheeks. It feels like he is on fire. Ava was saying something but it was drowned out by a ringing in his ears.

The boy suddenly falls onto the cold hard ground of the lab, he looks around and sees a shadow over his head get bigger and bigger until… 

Silence and a putrid smell fills the air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise not all chapters are so short, the first few chapters were just hard to write for


End file.
